2300 calories & 80 carbs?????

[mommie nea]

here is my situation. i just had my 3rd baby! so i will be nursing again for 1 year and i am trying to figure out the whole calorie\low carb thing . i must intake 2300-2600 calories a day to produce and keep my breast milk supply up. can i lose weight if i am having to take in 2300-2600 calories and take in only around 80 carbs? or is that too many calories for atkins? thanks for the help!

[not2late]

Originally Posted by mommie nea

here is my situation. i just had my 3rd baby! so i will be nursing again for 1 year and i am trying to figure out the whole calorie\low carb thing . i must intake 2300-2600 calories a day to produce and keep my breast milk supply up. can i lose weight if i am having to take in 2300-2600 calories and take in only around 80 carbs? or is that too many calories for atkins? thanks for the help!

According to Dr. Atkins, pregnant and nursing women should NOT do the weight loss phases of Atkins. The only appropriate phase for them is Maintenance Phase.

[mommie nea]

that is correct. but at 80 carbs i am on maintenance. so what i am trying to find out is that if you in take 2300-2600 calories and take in 80 carbs will you lose weight or is the calorie in take too high?

[ValidRouge]

I would imagine NOT. But, in MAINTENANCE you aren't supposed to be LOSING weight, you are supposed to be MAINTAINING weight. Not losing, not gaining.

If you are losing weight, then you are NOT DOING maintenance.

[Grant]

I would think it just depends on your body. Not sure if you really should want to lose weight at this point but our nurse told us that breast feeding burns about 500 calories a day. That, combined with whatever other activity you might be doing, your current weight, metabolism etc. makes you losing weight totally plausible. My wife, also currently breastfeeding, has lost about 2 pounds every three weeks and has had no problems with milk production.

[mommie nea]

i guess i am a little confused. after you have a baby you should be losing about 1 lb per week to get down to your pre pregnancy weight. so yes even when doing maintenance i should be losing about a lb per week since i nurse. what i don't understand is if i am suppose to intake 2300-2600 calories each day am i better off doing maintenance-which if i have to make it to 2300 calories that is alot of protein and fat! or do i do the regular old eat whole grains and pasta, with only small amounts of protein and fat to make it to 2300. i am looking to find out if 2300 calories which is mainly fat and protein is too much.

[not2late]

Originally Posted by mommie nea

i guess i am a little confused. after you have a baby you should be losing about 1 lb per week to get down to your pre pregnancy weight. so yes even when doing maintenance i should be losing about a lb per week since i nurse. what i don't understand is if i am suppose to intake 2300-2600 calories each day am i better off doing maintenance-which if i have to make it to 2300 calories that is alot of protein and fat! or do i do the regular old eat whole grains and pasta, with only small amounts of protein and fat to make it to 2300. i am looking to find out if 2300 calories which is mainly fat and protein is too much.

During Maintenance Phase, our calorie break down is this: about 40-50% fat, 30% protein and 20-30% carb. Of course, that is just an estimate because everybody is different and everybody has their own carbohydrate tolerance. We have folks whose carb tolerance is 25 and we have folks who can eat 100 net carb grams and still maintain their weight. The carbs during maintenance come from veggies (including starchy veggies like potatoes, carrots), full fat dairy, nuts/seeds, legumes and whole grains.

But back to your 2300 question. If 50% of that 2300 is from fat calories, then it comes to about 127 grams of fat, or about 31 grams of fat for 3 meals plus 1 snack per day. 1/2 of an avocado has about 15 fat grams and 1 tablespoon of olive oil has about 14 fat grams. If you eat a salad dressed with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and top it with half an avocado, that salad will contain 30 grams of fat.

[grovemonkey]

I would follow the advice of my doctor or a professional nutritionist about what is the best way to provide nutrients to you child during the development phase.